Texas mayor sends queso recipe to the moon via SpaceX rocket

By Roberto Villalpando rvillalpando@statesman.com

Monday

Feb 25, 2019 at 1:18 PMFeb 25, 2019 at 1:24 PM

A SpaceX rocket that took off Thursday night from Cape Canaveral, Fla., bound for the moon will deposit on the surface an Israeli lander — as part of that nation’s first moonshot — as well as a “lunar library” made up of millions of documents etched in teeny-tiny letters on flat discs of metal.

Among the documents being delivered to any curious extraterrestrials is a letter from Austin, Texas, Mayor Steve Adler that includes salutations to potential alien visitors, a photo of the late Leslie Cochran, a cross-dresser whose skimpy outfits once personified the city’s “weird” vibe, and a secret queso recipe from Kerbey Lane Cafe, a local restaurant.

So if the moon really is made of green cheese, now they can make some quality queso out of it.

“We choose to send queso to the moon — and maybe someday chips as well, not because these things are easy, but because they are hard,” Adler wrote, echoing President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 speech in Houston that rallied the nation’s original mission to the moon.

“If it helps your decision to visit, please know that extraterrestrial beings have already been to Austin, become cultural icons, and even run for mayor – and they are forever welcome here,” Adler also wrote, referring to the inclusion of a photo of Cochran. “I’m not going to say exactly what the picture shows, but Leslie mooned Austin enough times. It was about time Austin mooned the moon.”

Adler’s letter is part of the “Lunar Library” compiled by the Arch Mission Foundation from millions of documents, laser-etched in microscopic form on a radiation-proof nickel disk. The library — which includes a copy of the entire contents of English-language Wikipedia, 25,000 books and other resources — will be placed on the moon for permanent display.